Bottling bucket vs plastic carboy for primary fermenting

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Taylormade

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I'm filling the pipeline, boys! I have four in the keezer already pouring and two in the closet fermenting away. I'm brewing another batch this morning (Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout, if anyone's interested) and realized that I don't have any more fermenting buckets to speak of. I have a bottling bucket and several of the 5 gallon water jugs.

Is there a preference as to which of the lesser two evils I should use? I realize neither is preferrable, but which would you use, given the situation?

Thanks in advance!

Scott
 
Sorry, I shoulda mentioned that the bottling bucket is 7 gallons whereas the carboy is only 5.5, which kind of answers my question I suppose. I do have the blow off top for the carboy, but perhaps I'll use the bottling bucket today and grab another standard primary bucket next time I'm at the LHBS.
 
Have you ever brewed the batch you are about to brew? If you have and it is a generally calm fermenting beer, you MIGHT be ok with only 1/2 gallon of headspace. Assuming you are controlling the fermentation temperature.

It is a risk, though.
 
I gather you will not need the bottling bucket to bottle any of the 3 batches fermenting ?
 
Have you ever brewed the batch you are about to brew? If you have and it is a generally calm fermenting beer, you MIGHT be ok with only 1/2 gallon of headspace. Assuming you are controlling the fermentation temperature.

It is a risk, though.
I haven't brewed this before, no, so I don't know the activity on it. I leave my fermenting buckets in bigger buckets filled with water (and add frozen water bottles as necessary) to try to moderate the temperature swings as much as possible, but living in Florida, it's tough to keep it below 72 for 10 days straight.

I gather you will not need the bottling bucket to bottle any of the 3 batches fermenting ?

No, I go straight from fermenting to keg. Thanks for the comment.

Bottling buckets gnerally being 6.5G,an airlock isn't much of a problem if you get pitch temp down to 65F or so,like I do.

I try to get it down below 70 before pitching the yeast, but quite often it's 75-80.
 
I haven't brewed this before, no, so I don't know the activity on it. I leave my fermenting buckets in bigger buckets filled with water (and add frozen water bottles as necessary) to try to moderate the temperature swings as much as possible, but living in Florida, it's tough to keep it below 72 for 10 days straight.



No, I go straight from fermenting to keg. Thanks for the comment.



I try to get it down below 70 before pitching the yeast, but quite often it's 75-80.

For some good news, consider this. Any off flavors in your beer are created within the first 3 to 5 days so you don't have to keep your beer so cool for so long. Try to start it and keep it in the low to mid 60's until the fast part of the ferment is over and then let it warm to room temp. Here's some info about the way ale yeast works. http://www.brewgeeks.com/the-life-cycle-of-yeast.html
 
For some good news, consider this. Any off flavors in your beer are created within the first 3 to 5 days so you don't have to keep your beer so cool for so long. Try to start it and keep it in the low to mid 60's until the fast part of the ferment is over and then let it warm to room temp. Here's some info about the way ale yeast works. http://www.brewgeeks.com/the-life-cycle-of-yeast.html

That's great news and I appreciate the link! I went with the bottling bucket and it's fermenting away. I originally submerged it in a 10G turkey fryer bucket filled with cold water, but got scared that the seal on the spigot would fail and my beer would be ruined, so quickly removed it. The house AC is set to 72... hopefully that'll be enough for it to do it's magic without any off flavors or problems.

I'm really stoked to have as many beers fermenting as I do. With three "in the hopper" and plans to brew a fourth this weekend, I'm going to be a happy camper in about three weeks. Normally, I'd be cheating and racking and carbonating at the 2-2.5 week mark but I''m going to be traveling for work a lot over the next three weeks so that takes a lot of time away. Heck, I better get to drinking the four I have on tap already or there's going to be no room at the inn!

As always, thanks for the help! :mug:
 
Taylormade said:
The house AC is set to 72... hopefully that'll be enough for it to do it's magic without any off flavors or problems.

The heat of fermentation will raise your wort temps a bit, say 5 to 10 degrees. FWIW, house or ambient temp of 72 sounds a bit warm as your fermenting beer will be higher.

Try and be mid sixties wort temp until the kreusen falls IMHO.
 
Taylormade said:
I went with the bottling bucket and it's fermenting away. I originally submerged it in a 10G turkey fryer bucket filled with cold water, but got scared that the seal on the spigot would fail and my beer would be ruined, so quickly removed it.

FWIW, a failed seal on your fermenter OUTSIDE the turkey fryer would ruin the beer via spill.

I would guess it is actually less likely to fail while it is submerged in the water because the pressure differential from inside to outside would be smaller.

Your call. But I can almost guarantee a better beer inside the swamp cooler than at 72* ambient.
 
Thanks for the advice. I dumped it back in last night. The temps cooled off a bit for the next few days and our highs are only supposed to reach mid 70s, so that'll help as well. Came at a good time.

I have three beers in primary (and only) fermentation now. One brewed last Saturday, one brewed this past Thursday and another on Friday. The one from Thursday started fermenting about 10 hours after pitching the yeast and went GANGBUSTERS for about 24 hours. It was rattling the airlock something fierce. Since Saturday morning, however, there's been little to no activity with it.

The wheat beer from last Saturday is still bubbling strong and, of course, so is the one from Friday.

Weird that the "Octoberfest" kit from Thursday flamed out already after 24 hours or so?
 
I know it's a little late and you've started up, but it may be good info for any others reading this. I only have one bucket at 29L (~7.6 gal by my calculation) with a spigot on it. My multi purpose bucket has always been both a primary and bottling bucket. FWIW I do not use an airlock, I sit the lid on the bucket and put a couple pounds of weight on it - I do not know if this changes the size or growth rate of krausen. I started up an IPA yesterday and within 24 hours its showing me 2L (0.53 gal) of krausen on top of the 20L batch. If I had of stuffed that into my 20L carboy, I'd be cleaning out my room right about now. Even with my 23L carboy I'd be looking at that growing mass and may be tempted to stop relaxing.

I see that you go right from your fermenter into the keg, but for my own feeling of completion... This method also forces me to transfer into a carboy as a secondary (now using airlock) which I do not mind. By this time (exactly one week with every batch so far, IPA might change that) the krausen has subsided and I no longer need to worry about clogged airlocks or blowoff tubes. Until something goes awry and I learn from experience that is.
 
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